Toxic
by jasperskitty
Summary: What do you do when your natural prey and your reason for being turns out to be a threat to your very own survival? Do you follow your heart and fight, or decide to make the ultimate sacrifice? Alternate Twilight, M rated for a reason, B/J … in time.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello my loyal readers, this is my newest story. It will be an alternate Twilight story, for the most part told either from Bella's or Jasper's POV.**

**Just a few facts upfront, before you bombard me with questions:**

**1. There will be no Alice. I've had it with her and her manipulations, so I decided to throw her skinny ass out (much easier this way than killing her or something along that line). Sorry.**

**2. Which means Jasper came to the Cullens on his own (the how and when will be explained later in the story).**

**3. Esme and Carlisle are just like in the books, acting as parents, Esme staying home, and Carlisle working at the hospital.**

**4. Emmett and Rose are a couple, but currently not in Forks.**

**5. Edward and Jasper are both single and seniors at Fork's High School. Their gifts remain the same.**

**I guess that's it for now. Everything else will be explained and revealed in the upcoming chapters. Oh, one last thing, Bella is very out-off-character, but I hope you'll like her nonetheless.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1 History repeating Part 1

Bella POV

First days at a new school suck. That much I knew even with my limited personal experience on the matter.

But then again, I had no right to complain. I've chosen this. It has been my decision to leave Phoenix, my mother and Phil, to come and live with my Dad Charlie for the duration of my last high school year. No one has forced me to come here.

The decision was made two months ago …

_Renee and I sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast in silence. At first it seemed like a usual morning. My mother skimmed through some magazine, drinking her third cup of coffee, and I had my nose buried in one of my favorite books, munching on my favorite cereal._

_Michael, my tutor, was scheduled to come over later and we would go over my chemistry and biology assignments together. Not that I needed a tutor, well maybe for math, but other than that I was doing pretty good on my own. But since I wasn't actually attending school at the moment, a private tutor was the only alternative._

_For the last two months he came over twice a week, bringing with him new study material, precisely following the curriculum._

_I liked Michael. He was cool, twenty-three years old, and a pretty good teacher. He used this job to finance his studies, to become a bioengineer. In my opinion he would make a pretty good high school teacher, too, with his looks and his casual attitude he would have both the girls and the boys eating out of his hands in no time. When I told him that, he just laughed._

_Michael was cute, funny and of course very smart but yet not my type. Sure, he and I did get along very well, sharing more than a teacher/student relationship by now._

_I wasn't in any way attracted to him, but even if I was, I wouldn't have tried anything, because my mother always stayed close by, whenever he was in the house. Michael thought that she was acting as our chaperone, that she didn't trust him to be alone with her precious little daughter. I thought it was hilarious, and not to mention completely unnecessary to keep an eye on us._

_For one, he had a girlfriend and he wasn't the cheating type. Not to mention he was five years older than me. True, it wasn't such a big age difference, but I was still in high school and he was close to finish his college education. We lived in two completely different worlds. We managed to become friends, but we would never be more than that._

_Of course, we've talked about other things than my school assignments. We had a similar taste in music, but other than that we didn't have much in common, interest wise, which was fine._

_And of course, he knew something terrible has happened to me. My mother has explained the whole homeschooling arrangement to him, without giving him any details, just the cliff notes. Thank God, he wasn't the prying type. It was a rare character trait nowadays, but certainly one of the main reasons, why I liked him so much._

_I knew he would listen, so would everybody else for that matter, but there was no way in hell I was going to tell _anybody_ what had truly transpired that day._

_Ever since 'the incident' my mom wore this constant look of worry on her face, treating me with the utmost care. She was afraid that one false word would cause a relapse in my healing progress. That was the real reason why she'd stayed close when Michael was here._

_I've tried to tell her countless times that I was okay, but the fact that I've barely left the house for the last three months, other than to take a quick walk around the block or helping my mother with grocery shopping, wasn't working into my favor. She didn't believe me._

_According to my therapist I was still suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The good doctor wasn't completely wrong with her psychiatric evaluation, but at the same time she was too gullible to see through my deception. I didn't think that she was completely incompetent, professional speaking. My guess was that she simply lacked the ability to think outside the box, to see what was right in front of her. A girl who knew exactly what happened but decided to keep it a secret, because spilling her guts would cause more problems than solving them._

_My therapist was still convinced the reason why I didn't like to go outside was because I was scared to be around people and men in particular. Since the police hasn't found any evidence that would lead them to catch and arrest my attacker, she assumed that I was also scared that he might come back to finish what he had started. I just went with it._

_She has been the one to convince my parents to take me out of school for the rest of the year, and I've gladly welcomed that decision. It wasn't like we couldn't afford homeschooling. Phil made pretty good money thanks to his new job as a trainer of some elite baseball team. And he was more than willing to help, because he loved me just as much as my mother._

_I appreciated their sympathy for my situation, their efforts to help me, but at the same time I felt awful for deceiving them … all of them. But what other choice did I have?_

_Everybody believed that I was a mugging victim, one that barely escaped with her life. The man, er, the thing that had attacked me had done quite a number on me, countless bruises, a broken wrist and two fractured rips. I had to spend two weeks in the hospital to recover from those injuries._

_But with the knowledge I've managed to obtain ever since, I knew that it could have been far worse._

_Physically I was fully healed, mentally … well not completely, but I was getting there._

_My therapist and my parents were very determined, doing everything in order to help me get past the unpleasant memories of the attack._

_But I knew it was an impossible task. I would never forget._

_Withholding vital information was probably delaying my healing progress further, but it was necessary, and probably the best and only choice I had, considering the consequences._

_I was certainly not scared to cross path with HIM again, because I knew with absolute certainty that HE was gone for good. No HE wouldn't be back. But where there was one there could easily be another, right? Who knew how many of their kind were running around the city, waiting to finish what he'd started?_

_That's why I didn't want to go outside. I had no desire to run into another one of HIS kind. Once was enough. I still had no idea how I'd managed to get away, relatively unscathed, and not to mention taking him down instead the other way around. But somehow I was sure, next time I might not be so lucky. He might not have been able to kill me the 'natural' way, but that didn't mean there weren't other ways to accomplish the task. I could clearly remember his physical strength. I wouldn't stand a chance, even with the self-defense training I've had._

_The image of HIS demise was forever carved into my mind, causing me to wake up screaming every night, for the first two weeks after the attack. I still had those nightmares from time to time, but somehow I'd managed to learn to deal with them in my own way._

_I used every free minute to find as much information as I could. The most difficult part was to separate the facts from the myths._

_At first the whole thing had seemed so unreal, like a bad horror movie. But the weird scar on my neck was all the proof I needed. I knew what had attacked me. But I couldn't tell anybody the truth, because that would have earned me a one-way ticket into a nice padded cell for the rest of my life._

_I wanted my life back, for sure, but most importantly I wanted to stay free. So in order to achieve both, I kept my mouth shut, and tried to live my life as best as I could._

_I looked up from my book. My mother was fidgeting more than usual, and I could tell that she wanted to talk to me about something important, but apparently couldn't find the right way to start. I decided to help her out._

"_Mom, is something wrong?"_

_She looked at me and smiled. It was a sad smile and I hated it. I was at the end of my ropes. I didn't know what else I could do to make her feel better, to convince her that I was indeed fine. "Bella, I think … maybe it's time for you to go back to school after the summer vacation, be around people … even if you don't want to talk to them, it's better than sitting around the house all day, don't you think? I've watched you with Michael and it seems to me that you're doing better. You are better, aren't you?"_

_The despair in her voice was breaking my heart. "Yes, mom, I'm good." It wasn't a lie. I've come to terms with things, accepted the truth. There were more things in this world than the humans were aware of. I've always expected as much, but now I knew for certain._

"_Well, what do think? You could change school, if you'd like. Maybe this way …" she trailed off._

"_I wanna go to Forks." I blurted out._

_Renee was startled, openly gaping at me. "Really? You want to live with your Dad?"_

'_Wow woman, you really make him sound like a complete imbecile.' I thought. 'Okay, that is just mean.'_

_She was just surprised, understandably though. But when she'd proposed a change of venue, the first place that had come to mind was Forks. The further away from here the better._

"_Yeah, I think that's what I want." I said, lowering my gaze to my now empty bowl. I felt a little bad for suggesting it. I didn't want her to think that she'd failed._

_My mother took a moment to digest my proposal. "Alright, if that's what you want. I'll call Charlie and ask him."_

"_Thanks, Mom." I said, letting out a breath of relief. I stood up and gave her a hug._

_She was visible touched by my reaction, and equally relieved. "Anytime, Bella … whatever makes you happy."_

_Of course my Dad didn't say no. He never would._

I pulled myself out of my memories and smiled. I knew even before my mother had placed the call that Charlie would be more than pleased about my decision. He was ecstatic. In fact, he'd told me that he'd made the same proposition to my mother once, a month after the attack. At first I was a little mad at Renee for withholding that information, but then again, I had no right to feel that way, since I was doing exactly the same, but for a complete different reason.

I took one final deep breath, before I finally got out of my first very own vehicle, a used truck, courtesy of Charlie's best friend Billy. I loved it.

It was still early, so for now the parking lot was almost empty. I assumed that would soon change when my future classmates would arrive. I walked into the front office to get my schedule.

Ms. Cope, the school administrator, was quite delighted to meet me, the daughter of the Chief of Police. She talked about him, like they were best friends, probably hoping to get me talk about myself in the process. But I had no intention to satisfy her desire for gossip.

When she realized that I wasn't the talkative type, she continued to skim through my papers. "I see you've been homeschooled for the last three months, may I ask why?"

Of course she would ask the one question, that was both logical, given her job, but at the same completely of limits, as far as I was concerned.

"No." I replied brusquely. Her reaction was instantaneous and quite reasonable. She was shocked, probably expecting a better behavior from the Chief's daughter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude … I had my reasons. But I'd rather not talk about it."

"Alright," Ms. Cope conceded, clearly getting the hint. "Here you go, honey." She said with a smile, handing me my schedule and a map to help me find my way around.

I said my goodbye and went outside into the hall.

_Well, that went swimmingly._ I huffed. But I imagined that things would only get worse from here. I took one look at my schedule and the map, and then I made my way straight to my first class, English. On my way I kept my head down, mentally preparing myself for the usual: the curious stares, the whispers behind my back, all the unwanted attention. And the fact that my father was a public figure wouldn't make things easier, quite the contrary.

I knew I would hate all of it, but I would do my best not to show it.

Deep down, I didn't care if they were going to like me or not. I wasn't here to make new friends, but at the same time I didn't want to make enemies either. I only wanted to finish my last year of high school in peace and be done with it.

One way or another I would make it work. By now I was a pretty good actor. If I was able to fool my therapist, I would have no problem to accomplish the same with some teenagers.

A girl named Jessica Stanley was the first who came over and talked to me after my first class. She was quite obviously one of the in-crowd. She bombarded me with endless questions. I answered most of them truthfully, only dodging the unpleasant ones. She wasn't smart enough to realize it though, probably thinking I was just shy. I let Jessica talk, only half listening to what she was saying.

If only she knew … there was nothing shy about me. Not that I was a troublemaker or a god forbid one of those slutty girls who slept with everything that had a penis.

I wasn't the typical teenage girl, desperate to find a place to fit in. I knew who I was. I was strong-minded and smart. I was loyal and fiercely protective of the people I cared about. I knew how to take care of myself, not minding to spend most of my spare time on my own, studying instead of partying. I didn't give a crap what shallow people just like Jessica were thinking about me.

None of those things have changed after the attack. If anything, with the knowledge I possessed now, I've become only stronger, more determined to learn everything there was to learn.

Until lunchtime everything went fine. Classes were mostly boring, even math was easy, especially after Michael's tutoring. Jessica introduced me to some of her friends, and we all sat together, eating lunch. Everyone was curious about me, but they didn't ask as many questions as Jessica. Maybe she had filled them in on my need for privacy. Whatever, as long as it was working, I didn't care for the reason.

I glanced around the room just out of curiosity and that was when I saw them for the first time.

I froze on spot. I couldn't believe this was happening … again. And here I'd thought in a small town like Forks, with a population of approximately three thousand people instead of four million, I would be safe.

No luck for Bella. How could I be so stupid? There was no safe place for me. I shouldn't be surprised. Deep down I've always known that my past would catch up with me, somehow, eventually.

The urge to flee the room and leave the school altogether was strong. But how could I explain that to Charlie?

_Hey, Dad, there are these vampires at school, and I'm scared. Please, don't make me go back there. _Yeah, not bloody likely.

Despite the strong urge to take immediate flight, I couldn't take my eyes off of them. They were both male, sitting apart from everybody, pretending to enjoy the meal just like the rest of us. One had the weirdest hair color, I've ever seen. It reminded me of leaves changing color in autumn. The other one was blond. Both were exceptionally beautiful. If I didn't know what they were, I might have tried to get to know the blond one better. Even with him sitting, I could tell that he was tall and quite muscular. Just my type.

Damn it, I shouldn't … no I couldn't feel this way about him, or any of them for that matter. They were predators, and we were their natural prey. But nobody in the room seemed to be fazed by their presence. What were they doing here anyway? Quite obviously they were students here, like me. But how?

"Bella?" Jessica called my attention, probably not for the first time. I hated to admit that it took some difficulty to take my eyes off of them and look at Jessica. She smirked at me, knowingly. "You are not the first one to get drawn to them. But heed my word. It's a waste of time."

"Huh?"

"They don't date." She clarified with a sour look on her face. I understood without any further explanation. They had turned down her advances, and she still wasn't over the rejection. Poor girl … she didn't know how lucky she was.

"It's not like that." I mumbled, risking another glance. That's when the blond one's eyes met mine. Golden met brown, and a strange, but not completely unpleasant shiver went down my spine.

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**A/N Good, bad? Have I sparked your interest? Please let me know! Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Many thanks to SAVAGEGRACEx, aggy73, baby mama in training, ktdid23, Kathy Hiester, xSAYxHELLOx, Cullens Darlin, Nicoconsd, NewTownGirl, Liamsgurl33, Rogue Deceiver, rerose1975, gredelina1, Descartes1, cathy29jes, VampireInDisguise, , moore8879, Navygirl14, ImAnInspiredFan, PurpleMaeve, Minnakoda, sweetmel21, roon0, Nissa-Cullen, Sapphirepa and TotallyTeamAlec for your feedback on the first chapter.**

**I know, it's been a while since the last (or in this case first) update, and I apologize for that. Figuring that you aren't really interested in any excuses, I'll spare you and just let you read the next installment instead.**

**Enjoy!**

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_Previously …_

"_It's not like that." I mumbled, risking another glance. That's when the blond one's eyes met mine. Golden met brown, and a strange, but not completely unpleasant shiver went down my spine._

Chapter 2 History repeating Part 2

Bella POV

I felt powerless. Trapped, compelled, mesmerized, spellbound … whatever you wanna call it.

It was weird, to say the least. And a little unsettling.

Of course, I tried to break this uncanny connection between us, whatever it was. But despite my best efforts, I simply seemed to be unable to turn my head and thus divert my gaze away from him.

A part of me – the weak, self-conscious part – wanted to put the whole blame of my failure on him, and his _condition_, thinking that he was doing this on purpose, that he was using some freaky vampire power. Like mind-control. Honestly, who knew what their kind was capable of? Maybe they were able to turn into bats, just like in the classics.

_Well that would be actually kinda cool …_ I mused, immediately chastising myself for getting off topic.

The crucial point was I didn't _want_ to look away. As much as it pained me to admit it, if only to myself, of course, I couldn't deny the fact that I felt drawn to him.

_Like a moth to the flame …_

But seriously, how could I not? He was very easy on the eye. And damn my (bad) luck, he was exactly my type. Tall, blonde, and handsome … well more like heart-racing, panty-melting, drop-dead gorgeous.

_No pun intended …_

Sure, according to Jessica, I wasn't the first one to fall under his spell, and most likely, I won't be his last victim. But that fact didn't make me feel better, no, quite the opposite actually. It made me feel worse. I had no interest, whatsoever, to become the next certified member of the pathetic-girls-drooling-over-the-unattainable-club.

Of course not wanting to make a fool out of myself was always a valid enough reason, but then again it was a little more complicated than that.

I knew why I had to fight this, whatever this was. I knew why I couldn't allow my hormones to take control over my actions, why I had to stay away from him … **at all costs** … because I knew something the others didn't.

He might look like an angel send straight from heaven, what with the blond, curly hair, and the perfectly sculptured face, but I knew he wasn't one.

Of course, I wouldn't go so far to call him a child of the devil either.

For one I wasn't religious, not at all. Sure, I've read the Bible, even studied parts of the Torah and Koran, but purely for intellectual reasons, to broaden my mind. You couldn't engage in a religious dispute without having at least some facts to backup your arguments.

But more importantly I wasn't the type to think in narrow-minded categories. And I had a firm rule to never put judgment on someone I haven't spoken to at least once. Maybe he was a nice guy, maybe he was a total jerk. Who knew?

But after my last encounter with one of his kind, I wasn't willing to take the risk to find out if he and his companion were different, even if their presence amongst all these humans hinted in that direction.

My physical wounds had healed nicely, but mentally … well I was sure I would never fully recover from that traumatic incident. In some way or another, this would haunt me forever.

So, naturally, as far as I was concerned, he represented a potential danger. Maybe he wasn't the lethal creature, I deemed him to be, who did want one thing above all else …blood, fresh, human blood … but since I've already made up my mind about staying away from him, I was probably never going to find out.

_Once bitten, twice shy and all that … literally in my case … the first part that is …_

And yet, despite all my qualms, I still didn't look away … and neither did he. Well, apparently we had one thing in common. Curiosity. Wasn't that the thing the killed the cat?

The blonde godlike creature didn't blink, nor did he seem to be breathing, or moving … at all. He just sat there, observing me … like a science project.

Maybe I should have felt violated, the way he was scrutinizing me, like he was trying to get into my head … or under my clothes. The latter was probably just my imagination running wild. He couldn't be interested in me … at least not in that way. Guys who looked like him usually didn't look twice at me.

_But a girl can dream … especially when that's all she can do … I mean … just thinking about those luscious lips … _I mentally shook my head, trying to eradicate all the vivid pictures my mind came up with, of him with me, doing … _Urgh … don't even go there … none of this can ever be happening … just accept it …_

Then all of a sudden there was a shift in his demeanor, effectively breaking the spell between us.

I had no idea how much time had passed. It had felt like hours, but I was pretty sure, not more than a couple of seconds, maybe a minute had gone by, since the first moment our eyes had met across the room.

Now that I was freed from his influence, I felt lighter, for sure, almost relieved, but I still couldn't look away.

_Obsessive much? Maybe …but then again I have my reasons … _

The look on his face had changed from curiosity to confusion, bordering on irritation. Even from this distance I could see him knitting his brow. To tell the truth, I didn't like the new look. Of course, it didn't lessen his attractiveness. Presumably, there was nothing that would make him look bad … in the ugly-kind-of sense at least. However … this half-glare he was giving me at the moment, inadvertently allowed me to catch a glimpse of his true nature.

Of course, _that_ made me nervous, but not nearly nervous enough to take flight or even flinch in fear. In fact, the weird thing was, I wasn't scared at all. It would be a reasonable and probably expected reaction, considering what I knew. But I simply didn't feel intimidated. The only side effect it had on me was that my curiosity was stirred further.

What had caused this sudden change? Did he learn something he didn't like? And if so, what was it?

_Questions upon questions … yet no answers in sight …_

The blonde didn't avert his intense gaze, but I did, but not every far. Until this very moment I had no idea that his companion was watching me as well. He was cute, for sure, but not nearly as gorgeous as the blonde one. They had the same eye color, some kind of freakish, yet beautiful gold. I've never encountered someone with this unusual eye-color before. Was it a vampire thing? Or maybe they were related? I doubted that, because aside from that particular similarity they had nothing in common. Well, aside from the fact that they were both vampires.

My eyes seemed to have a mind of their own, shifting back to _him_, instead of observing the red-haired one further. My gaze settled on his luscious lips, which were moving, very quickly. He was talking, probably answering a question from his friend.

"Yeah, right, of course you aren't _interested_." Jessica scoffed, drawing my attention away from the vampires … at last.

I turned my head to look at her. She didn't even try to mask her glee, smirking knowingly at me. I had to fight back the urge to stick out my tongue, showing her exactly how I felt about her remark. But I was too mature to act like a common five-year-old child. I was better than her.

"Believe me, I'm not." I replied, tersely. It wasn't a complete lie. I wasn't interested in him or his companion, the way she was implying … well at least not rationally. I was absolutely determined to fight this silly attraction, by any means necessary.

Her answering snigger told me that she didn't believe me, but I didn't really care. I shrugged and reached for my bottle of water, uncapping it and taking a sip. I wasn't really thirsty. I was just looking for a distraction.

Right on cue a girl with light-brown, shoulder-length hair, and way too much make-up, appeared at our table. She carefully placed her tray, containing a bowl of salad, a small bag of chips and a juice box, on top of it, before she unceremoniously dropped herself into the empty chair next to Jessica, effectively blocking my line of sight with _them_. Something, I wasn't truly sorry about. This way, I couldn't be tempted.

"What did I miss?" She asked, casually.

"Oh nothing much … Bella here has just made first contact with our most wanted bachelors. You know, Jasper Whitlock and Edward Cullen." Jessica said, jerking her head at _their_ table. She was trying to sound nonchalant, but it didn't take a genius to hear the longing in her voice, especially when she said the second name. Too bad I didn't know who was who. But then again, what difference would it make to know his name? None whatsoever … yet I really hoped his name was Jasper. Both names were rather old-fashioned, but Jasper was definitely the better one. And quite honestly, it would suit him.

Jessica's friend glanced over her shoulder. "Ah, yes … those two gems. It's such a shame they don't date." She sighed dramatically, before she turned her head around to face me again. "Hi, I'm Lauren." She introduced herself, rather cheerfully.

"Nice too meet you," I replied, amicably, not really meaning it, though. Or at least I wasn't quite sure yet. If she was anything like Jessica … "I'm Bella Swan, but I bet you already know that."

Lauren nodded emphatically. "Of course, you've been the talk of the day … the whole week actually." She laughed, inserting the straw into her juice box, taking a sip.

"Lucky me." I mumbled, barely audible.

"So … which one?" Lauren asked, picking through her salad.

I was lost. "Which one, what?"

"Which one of them are you interested in?" She clarified, in a keep-up-will-you kind of way.

"Neither." I answered, swiftly, decisively, mentally rolling my eyes in annoyance. Was there no other topic to talk about?

Lauren stared at me, raising her eyebrows in question. "_Really_?"

The tone of her voice didn't leave much room for interpretation. She, just like Jessica, didn't believe me either, like it was a sheer impossibility that someone could be immune to their allure. Which was probably true, but there was no way in hell I was going to admit my attraction to the blonde one out loud. Ever.

"I think she has a thing for Jasper." Jessica interjected, doing the outing for me. It took a lot not to growl at her in response, but thankfully I had enough practice at hiding my true feelings from others. So instead of lashing out, I merely shrugged, acting indifferently. "You should have seen the way they were eyeing each other … it was epic."

"I can imagine …" Lauren mused. She actually managed to sound intrigued and annoyed at the same time. "They usually don't give a fuck about anyone … you should feel honored." She added in the same voice, giving me quite glance over. From top to bottom, like she was trying to figure out what was so special about me.

_I would like to know that too … but for different reasons …_

It was plain obvious to me that she was jealous, just like Jessica. They really shouldn't feel that way. In fact, they probably wouldn't if they knew about Jasper's and Edward's true nature. No, on the contrary, they would be scared shitless. They wouldn't sit here, moaning. They would make a run for it … which wouldn't do them any good, of course, but that's beside the point. In truth, I sort of envied them, and everybody else for that matter.

On rare occasions, ignorance was bliss. And this certainly was one of those cases.

I muttered an irritated hmpf, but otherwise refrained from expressing my feelings. I knew it would be futile to voice my opinion on the matter, in words anyway. Girls like them wouldn't understand. For them, everything was a popularity contest. And they surely loved being the center of everyone's attention. It was their main objective in life … something I couldn't relate to. At all. And to draw the attention of someone who notoriously shunned everyone's advances … well that must be the icing on the cake.

Lauren acted like she didn't hear me or she simply chose not acknowledge my reaction for what it was, which was more likely. "Maybe you can give Jess some pointers. She could really use some help." She said, sniggering under her breath, completely ignoring her friend's clear moans of protest. "You have no idea how many times she has tried … and failed … to capture Edward's attention. Actually, come to think of think, it's downright spooky how he manages to escape her traps time and again … it's almost like he can read her mind, knowing in advance what she is up to. It's really weird and _sad_ … but highly entertaining."

"You are the one to talk,_ bitch_." Jessica snapped, clearly angry with Lauren. "Trying to snatch Emmett away from Rosalie … talk about pathetic." She sneered, spitefully.

"Hey, at least I've learned my lesson after the third attempt." Lauren defended herself, sounding only slightly miffed. Seemingly this wasn't the first time they were going at it, taunting each other with their failed attempts to win the affection of their respective crushes. As amusing as their bitch-fight was, for the most part it was simply embarrassing. If that was their idea of friendship, I didn't want to be a part of it. Not that I didn't know that already, but this right here just strengthened my resolve. I would never treat a friend like this, humiliating him or her in front of others.

"But who could blame me for trying? All those muscles …" Lauren actually shivered, in delight I assumed, going by the dreamy look appearing on her face. "He should have tried out for the football team. I bet he would have made a great quarterback. I wonder why he never did …" She trailed off.

"Probably because his _girlfriend_ wouldn't let him …" Jessica provided helpfully, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

This time Lauren didn't take the bait, though. She simply ignored Jessica's obvious jibe, and nodded her head in agreement. "No doubt about that." She muttered, frowning. "I still have no idea what he sees in her …"

"You mean aside from her dreamlike body and her flawless face, not to mention her perfect blonde hair …" Jessica prodded.

_Dreamlike … flawless … perfect … does that mean what I think it means?_

"Yeah besides that …" Lauren remarked, disdainfully. If my mind wasn't busy trying to put two and two together, I might tell her that jealousy was an ugly trait. But as it was, I kept my mouth shut, listening to her whining. "You know very well what I'm talking about. That chick is a cold-hearted bitch. And she gets downright scary when provoked in the wrong way. Although I'm quite partial to the weird, golden color of their eyes … well the boys' anyway … but sometimes she simply gives me the creeps when she looks at me. Like she wants to eat me or something …"

_Oh crap …_

My sharp intake of breathe drew both girls' attention. "Bella, is everything okay?" Jessica asked, sounding truly worried. "You look a little pale there. Maybe you should eat something …"

I shook my head. "I'm alright. It's nothing." I quickly assured her, reaching for my bottle. Neither Jessica nor Lauren seemed to be completely convinced, but fortunately for me they didn't press the issue. I took a few sips from my water, and then used my usual techniques to calm myself down.

_Deep breath in, deep breath out … clear blue sky … warm sunshine on my skin … turquoise water …_

Picturing the perfect beach, _my_ perfect beach, always seemed to do the trick. It was kind of funny, actually, considering I've never been to the beach, any beach for that matter, but maybe that's the reason why it always worked. And thankfully right now wasn't an exception to the rule. Relieved to no end, I smiled, genuinely, for the first time in days … with positive results. Both, Lauren and Jessica relaxed visibly.

"So … Emmett and Rosalie are friends with _them_?" I asked, casually, choosing my words very carefully, even pretending I couldn't remember _their_ names, which wasn't the case, of course. My memory worked just fine. But I knew in order to get more information on _them,_ without causing too much suspicion or, god forbid, sending the wrong message, I needed to be really sneaky.

_Know your enemy … that's all that counts … I need more information …_

"No, they are more than just friends. They are family." Jessica enlightened me, very eager to share information. But in truth she was just confirming what I've already suspected. I frowned nonetheless, a reaction that didn't go unnoticed by Lauren.

"I know they don't look like it … well except for the eyes maybe." Lauren said, smirking. "That's because they aren't blood related. They were all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife, who moved here two years ago …"

* * *

I walked to my next class in a trance-like state, having to check my map a couple of times in order to find my way.

My mind was still reeling from all the information, Lauren and Jessica had been able to provide me with. They had been very forthcoming, something I was more than grateful for. Normally I despised gossip, but under the circumstances I was willing to overlook it.

I'd thought things couldn't get any worse after recognizing Jasper and Edward for what they were. But apparently I had been wrong.

I'd learned that there were four vampires currently residing in Forks. Emmett and Rosalie had graduated the year before, and had left to attend some Ivy League college. Neither one of them had made any kind of effort to form a friendship with any one at school, or outside. According to Jessica, they pretty much kept to themselves, avoiding the public as much as possible … well except for Carlisle Cullen.

I still couldn't believe it. A vampire working at a human hospital … this was ludicrous. But apparently he was well respected in town. So I figured, whatever their deal was, they were no (immediate) danger to humans. I kind of presumed as much, upon seeing Jasper and Edward in the cafeteria. But still … I made a mental note to ask my Dad later, about Dr. Cullen and his so-called family. As Chief of Police, I was sure he had met them … at least in passing.

At last I found the Biology room. But I almost turned around to leave again, when I saw Edward sitting at the back of the room, alone. Almost in reflex, his head snapped up and he immediately sought out my eyes. He stared at me in the same curious sort of way like his brother had done back in the cafeteria, but this time I decided not to uphold the connection, but diverted my gaze at once. I took in a deep, calming breath and went straight for the teacher's desk, handing Mr. Banner my slip, before taking a seat in the very front next to a girl I've seen in one of my other classes. Her name was Angela.

I did my best to follow Mr. Banner's lecture about genetics, but it wasn't easy. The entire time, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. And I knew it wasn't a human who kept an eye on me. It was really unsettling. I could practically feel _his_ eyes boring in the back of my head … but I didn't dare to turn around and tell him to stop staring.

Rule number one: Never antagonize a vampire unless you are seriously fucked up in the head. Which I wasn't … I just knew too much.

So instead of I chose to ignore the eerie feeling of being watched like prey and pretended to follow the lecture.

* * *

I let out a sigh of relief, when the bell announced the end of the lesson. It was also the end of my first school day. I took my time gathering up my things, and when I finally turned around to check, I practically squealed in delight to discover _him_ gone.

I made a quick stop in the front office, to hand in my attendance slip, before I hurried outside, practically running to my truck. I simply couldn't get home fast enough. The parking lot was almost empty, except for a few more cars. No one was waiting for me, no one tried to stop me from leaving.

I drove straight home, dropping my plans to go shopping for groceries. There was still enough to make a half-decent dinner this evening. I simply felt the need to get somewhere safe. Well what I presumed as safe …

I parked my truck in the driveway and went inside. For a split second I considered to call my Mom telling her about my first day at the new school, like I've promised, but I was still too worked-up to have a decent conversation. And Renée was far too observant for my liking. She would know something was up.

_Later …_

So instead, I went to check the contents of the fridge, contemplating tonight's menu. There wasn't much left, but at least there was still some of my Dad's favorite fish stocked in the freezer. I could work with that. I took out enough for both of us, placing it on a plate on the counter, to unfreeze.

I was just filling a glass of orange juice when I suddenly realized I wasn't alone any longer.

Of course I hadn't heard him come in. Maybe I should have locked the door. But then again, I doubted it would have kept him out.

He practically appeared out of nowhere, clamping one of his cold, hard hands over my mouth, effectively preventing me from screaming out for help, while his other went around my waist, securing in place. Neither was really necessary though. The nearest neighbors lived too far away to hear me scream or throw a loud party and I knew trying to run wouldn't do me any good.

I dropped my glass, hearing it shattered on the floor. But I couldn't care less about the mess I was making. All I could focus on was his labored breathing against my neck and his tight grip. It hurt like hell, but I knew it would only get worse from here.

"Please don't." I begged, mumbling against his hand. But he heard me.

"I promise to make it quick." His voice was pure silk, but underneath I could hear his need, his raging hunger.

Since I haven't heard their voices before, I didn't know if it was it Jasper or Edward who was assaulting me right now. I hoped it was the latter. I simply couldn't bear the thought of Jasper going after me like that. But on the other side, I didn't want to hurt Edward either.

"You don't know what you're doing. I am …" My words were cut off by a stinging pain on my neck. His sharp teeth tore through the thin layer of skin and tissue like a hot knife through butter.

It hurt like hell. I thought I was going to faint from the pain … but then … all of the sudden it was over.

His grip loosed and I sunk to the ground, landing on all fours. I vaguely registered another, rather loud bump, indicating I wasn't the only one ending on the floor.

I scrambled on my feet, very carefully. There was glass everywhere and I didn't need to injure myself any further. The dizziness wasn't as bad as the last time. He probably didn't manage to take more than a few sips, before his body realized something wasn't right.

_Speaking of injury …_

My hand went to the spot where the vampire's teeth have been just seconds ago. The cut was already sealed shut and I could feel the familiar texture of the scarred wound. Well, at least it would match the other one, on the other side of my neck.

I turned around and stared down at my attacker. Edward was lying on his back, still writhing in pain.

"Please help me …" He moaned, another shudder running through his body, like he was having some kind of seizure.

"Why should I?" I scoffed, taking another step back. Somehow I felt the need to put more distance between us, even though it didn't look like he was going to attack again. Better safe than sorry, right?

"I'm sorry … I didn't mean to … I couldn't help it … Please … Phone in my pocket … my brother …" He groaned, and then he passed out. Well, at least it looked like he had simply lost consciousness. His chest didn't move, giving me no indication if he was still alive or dead … or undead in his case.

I took some comfort in the fact that he didn't burst into flames like his co-fellow.

Even though, he'd just tried to kill me, I felt compelled to help Edward.

Very slowly, very carefully I moved towards him, crouching down beside him. I felt a little weird going through the pockets of his trousers, on the search for his phone. I might have been less reluctant, if had been Jasper … but now wasn't the right time to think about _that_.

At last I made a find in his back pocket. It took me only a minute to find the right number in his directory. Without any further delay, I hit dial, waiting for Jasper to answer.

* * *

**A/N Next time up, Jasper's introduction … **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Thanks for all the feedback for the second chapter: SAVAGEGRACEx, Kathy Hiester, VampireInDisguise, maria28, gredelina1, twimama77, Lady Ramona, ashley4948, jtwsnw20, mssmith, sshart, Princess Mishawaka, baby mama in training, ktdid23, cathy29jes, free-to-fly-2010, Nena1981, Hisuiko, , Nicoconsd, TotallyTeamAlec, Sapphirepa, drkvctry, twilightfan888, Minnakoda, sha711 and Moon Princess623 (you'll see that you've been dead on with your hunch).**

**Without any further delay I give you Jasper, our knight in shining armor … well Edward's for now anyway. *sniggers* **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3 The only course of action

Jasper POV

When the bell rang, signaling the end of my Spanish class, I let out a deep-felt sigh of relief.

Another day of pure torture was finally over.

Of course, I knew, in order to uphold our public image, it was necessary for us _kids_ to blend in as well, which meant once again we had to resume the roles of high school students. Fortunately, we all had been changed at such a young age, making it easy to pass as a senior high school students. Okay maybe, _fortunately_ was the wrong word, considering none of us actually enjoyed playing this game, over and over again, but under the circumstances it was the correct term.

I thought it was funny … in a perverse, twisted sort of way. But at another point in the time I'd done the exact opposite of what I was doing now, with the same end result. I'd pretended to be older, in order to accomplish the only ambition I'd had at the time, joining the Confederate Army. True, back then I'd been happy beyond doubt, and proud. But now … I couldn't help but wonder. What if I hadn't succeeded? What if they hadn't believed my lies? Would things have turned out differently for me, if I'd joined the army at a later point or not at all? Or was I destined to meet Maria and her sisters, no matter what?

Of course, those were all valid questions, and I had every right to seek answers to each and every one. But even if I'd get them, I knew it wouldn't change anything. What's done it's, nobody can change the past, live in the now … and all that. Besides, I've already accepted my fate, a long time ago.

In any case, the point was that this kind of deceptive maneuver was working both ways for me. And right here and now it was certainly both a blessing as well as a prerequisite.

For one, many years ago we children have made a pact to do the school thing together or not at all … or at least we would start out together.

Emmett used to call us the four musketeers. Once he'd even gotten us T-Shirts with '_One for all and all for one'_ printed on the front. I'd thought it was hilarious, Edward and Rose … not so much. Those two seriously lacked a certain kind of humor.

We always signed up in pairs. Occasionally we took turns at who gets to be the younger couple of siblings, but more often than not Edward and I drew the short straw, which was probably for the best, considering we both had a certain advantage.

Of course, we couldn't all be of the same age. That would have been too suspicious. And we certainly didn't want to raise any more question than we already did. Pretending to be adoptive kids played a vital part in our cover, but apparently it wasn't working as well as we'd hoped. Although nobody has ever confronted us directly, we knew that some of the humans were entertaining doubts, and for good reason. Sure, at first glance we didn't look much alike, but you ought to be blind not to notice the physical similarities we did share … our golden eyes and pale skin color.

But more importantly, by more or less successfully pretending to be just another _human_ family, we had the chance to have a resemblance of a normal life. We were able to stay together in one place, for a couple of years at least, instead of being forced to wander from place to place like most of our kind.

True, in theory vampires didn't have to be nomads. They could set up house anywhere, as long as it was far away from any human population. Considering that human blood was a vampire's natural choice of food, it would be impractical, if not dangerous to live among humans, because sooner or later someone would notice if the locals started to go missing.

It was different for us, though. We've decided to go veggie, for a reason. None of us actually wanted to be monsters, especially not Carlisle. In fact, he had made it his life's ambition to save as much human lives as possible. To an outsider it might seem he was trying to atone for his sins, but we, his family, did know better. There was nothing he'd done in his life that he had to make amends for.

Of course Carlisle did disagree. He might not have taken a human life, at least not to in a conventional sense, to quench his bloodthirst. But in a way he was responsible for the death of four humans. After all he was the one who'd turned Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett into vampires. Of course they didn't blame him, quite the opposite actually. They were grateful for having a second chance at life … especially Rosalie. True, she, just like Carlisle, has never tasted human blood, but she'd gone on a small killing rampage shortly after her transition, taking revenge on the men who'd raped and then left her for dead. No one rebuked her for her behavior though, not even Esme, who truly detested any kind of violence.

All things considered, things were working quite nicely for us, but that's a far cry from saying that I was happy about this whole arrangement. Quite the opposite, I hated it. Of course, I did.

After the umpteenth time going through high school education I was utterly bored. But having to endure the same lectures over and over again wasn't the worst part. The monotony was comparatively easy to handle. I've made it a habit to bring a book with me. Edward did the same.

It was the smells in this place that were slowly but surely getting to me. And I wasn't talking about the blood, steadily pumping through the humans' veins. By now, I was practiced enough to ignore that scent … for the most part. No, it was the amount of perfume most of them were wearing that was making me want to hurl on a daily basis. It was truly beyond me, why human spent shitloads of money on that crap. I'd rather prefer their natural odor, sweat and all. Anything was better than the synthetic stuff, they dared to call perfume. To their inferior senses it might smell like flowers and fruits, but to a vampire … not so much. Nothing humans concocted in their laboratories would ever come close to the real thing. Someone should really enlighten them.

True, I could just stop breathing, thereby cutting of my sense of smell altogether. It wasn't like I needed oxygen to survive anyway. But I couldn't do that. For one, it would go against my nature. My kind was used to rely on that particular sense, for numerous reasons. But more importantly we couldn't risk drawing (any more) attention than we already did. Humans usually weren't very perceptive, but there were always exceptions to the rule. Sooner or later someone would notice that our chests were not moving. And then what? No better safe than sorry.

And yet the smells weren't the worst thing I had to deal with … not by a long shot.

Emmett, Rose, Edward and I had been through college a couple of times, too, but high school was without a doubt way more taxing, hormone-wise. The constant sexual tension in this place was impossible to ignore, especially for someone like me.

In college you had at least _some_ options. There you had the choice to attend courses or you could do the work on your own. Of course, we mostly did the latter, keeping our contact with humans to a minimum. But here, in high school every course was mandatory … including gym class, which naturally posed a problem for us. Sure, we've learned to control our strength a long time ago, but it still wasn't easy to hide our true potential. It was especially hard for Emmett. He was competitive by nature. Faking things has never been his strong suit. He was upfront with everything. But knowing what was at stake, he went along with the rules … grudgingly though. Needless to say, he found ways to let out his frustration.

Anyhow … the bottom line was, in this small place there was no escape from the people who got on your last nerves … like Jessica Stanley or that Mallory chick. We, more precisely Edward and I, didn't share more than two classes with them, thank God for small favors, but that didn't seem to be a hindrance for them, more like an incentive … to try harder. They both truly loved the challenge, we inadvertently presented them with.

Sure, for the first few weeks we've drawn attention from pretty much everybody in this school, which was to be expected, but over time things had calmed down considerably. We still got the looks, but aside from that we were left alone. But not by those two … their habit to haunt us during the breaks hasn't stopped to this day.

How many times had their pathetic advances been rejected now? One too many as far as Edward and Emmett were concerned, that's for sure. But apparently these two female specimens of the human population in this town weren't easily discouraged, but rather persistent to achieve their goals, by any means necessary.

It was really a wonder that they hadn't tried to follow us home. According to Edward they had thought about it, more than once actually. But they had never gone through with it, because they had dreaded to face Esme. It wasn't that they were scared of her. Who could be scared of Esme? I've never met anyone who was more tenderhearted than her, human or vampire. No, they were afraid to make a fool of themselves. Esme and Carlisle were highly respected in this little town.

Usually I admired people who had a strong will, who didn't throw in the towel prematurely, simply giving up when things got tough, but there was a big difference between healthy ambition and delusional obsession. Sometimes it really was a shame that we couldn't show them exactly why it was in their best interest to stay away from us. Jessica and Lauren didn't care how unrealistic their dreams were, or how inappropriate (and stupid) it was to come on to someone who was clearly already taken.

To this day, Lauren had no idea how lucky she really was to be still alive, especially after that last stunt she'd pulled. I still didn't know how exactly she had done it, but one day she'd miraculously managed to corner Emmett behind the gym after school. And from the looks of it, she might have even succeeded in laying a kiss on him, if it hadn't been for my and Rose's _untimely_ appearance at the site.

Emmett had just stood there, frozen in shock. I had been able to tell that he had been struggling with his instincts. Sure, he could have easily escaped her hold, pushing her away, but he had been scared to use too much force, therefore risking hurting the human.

Needless to say, the situation could have turned out quite differently if it hadn't been for my presence. Provoking a vampire was never a good idea, but stirring up the possessive side of a mated one was downright suicidal. Understandably, Rosalie had been a hair's breadth away from clawing Lauren's eyes out, before ripping her to shreds. Fortunately, thanks to my gift, I'd managed to dampen Rosalie's strong feelings of jealousy by pushing as much calm as needed into her, before she'd been able to act on her instincts, thus preventing her from killing a human and blowing our cover.

Sure, Emmett was the strongest among us, physically speaking. But in that specific situation he wouldn't have been able to achieve much … holding Rose back or talking to her wouldn't have done any good. She had been too far gone. She had been really, _really_ pissed.

As expected, the following two weeks had been pure hell for Emmett … and by association for me and Edward as well. Having a special power wasn't always a blessing. Most of the times, it was more like a burden, a curse.

Even though Rose had known perfectly well that her mate hadn't encouraged Lauren in any way, or that he wouldn't have enjoyed being kissed by that human girl, _at all_, Rose had made him pay for allowing Lauren to trap him in the first place. Maybe he'd deserved his punishment, the silent treatment and the sex-suspension, maybe he hadn't, but in the end it had taken a lot of groveling on Emmett's part, _and_ my fervent begging, for her to finally give in and forgive him.

Unsurprisingly, Emmett and Rose have barely left each other's side at school for the rest of their final year, but not only because they didn't want to give Lauren another chance to try and drive a wedge between them. Not that it was possible, for a mere human or anyone else for that matter, to break their mated bond, but still … they'd both learned their lesson, not wanting to have a repeat performance of Rosalie's choice of retribution. We all knew that abstaining sex for two weeks had been a punishment for both of them. Rose was simply stronger than Emmett to actually go through with it, even though she was suffering just as much as her mate.

But there had been a more pressing reason for their behavior … to avoid any kind of trouble that could jeopardize our lifestyle. With Edward keeping a closer 'watch' on Lauren and Jessica, and Emmett and Rosalie acting like newly enamored, we'd made through the year without another hitch.

I grinned at the memories, swiftly packing up my things, trying my best to ignore the fact that today was just the first day of the second week. The school year had only just begun. Fortunately it was our final year.

Still, without Emmett and Rose it was going to be a long year.

I missed them, very much. Don't get me wrong, Edward and I did along great. In fact, we were as close as you could get without being actually blood related, but having Em and Rose around, made things somehow easier to bear at school … and certainly more entertaining.

Of course, I only thought so, because I wasn't sought after like the rest of my siblings.

Sure, generally speaking, I did possess the same natural allure like the rest of my kind. My numerous scars were practically invisible to the human eye, and yet they seemed to sense that there was something seriously off about me. Vampires _knew_ I was dangerous, human just _suspected_ it. But their reaction towards me was pretty much the same.

Every day I could feel their uncertainty, their apprehension, their deference … and even though I didn't take pleasure in causing such reactions in anyone, it always did serve its purpose. Vampires rarely dared to challenge me, and humans tend to avoid me, at all cost. They didn't even dare to look at me for me more than ten seconds, before averting his or her eyes in shame or fear.

Until today …

Throughout the entire past week the majority of the student body had been talking about the new girl, the Police Chief's daughter. The constant high level of euphoria even had me anticipate her arrival, even though I couldn't care less. To a vampire she just represented another potential prey, nothing more.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

If truth be told, I'd spent most of my Spanish class thinking about her … Isabella Swan, or Bella, like she insisted to be called. Considering how small this place was, it was rather strange that we hadn't run across into each other before lunch hour.

Bella had shared a table with Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory, but it had been plain obvious that she didn't enjoy their company. You didn't have to be an empath to pick up on that. Her discomfort at the situation had been written all over her face … which was probably a good thing, because when I'd eventually put out me feelers, so to speak, I had been unable to get a read on her. Edward had been faced with the same problem. According to him, her mind was like a void, though I doubted very much that there was nothing going on in that pretty little head of hers.

It was a first, for both of us. We've never met anyone who was impervious to our gifts.

Naturally, I was intrigued. But at the same time I was worried, deeply worried. Not because she was able to deflect my gift, as well as Edward's. It was certainly a surprising novelty, but no reason to get upset, to freak out. No, it was the look on her face, when she'd locked her eyes with mine that had me worried.

Somehow, I didn't know how it was possible, but she knew exactly what we were.

Who was this girl? How could she know about our true identity, and still be alive?

On first glance Bella Swan appeared to be ordinary, a little dull even. I probably wouldn't have looked at her twice, if she hadn't been able to capture my attention so profoundly. But as it was, I hadn't been able to take my eyes of her … for quite some time. It had felt weird, a little unsettling even, being trapped in her gaze, but at least it had given me the chance to study her, calmly and covertly. I might not be able to use my gift, but my peripheral vision was working just fine.

The girl was obviously slender, but she didn't put her body on display like most girls her age. She was dressed very casual, in jeans, a dark-green sweater and a pair of no-name sneakers. Her long, dark hair was undone, falling in waves down her back. She didn't wear any make-up, but then again she didn't need it. She was a natural beauty. The way she held herself, and acted around people indicated that she had no idea how alluring she really was. Or she didn't care.

The bottom line was that Bella Swan was far from ordinary or dull. She was a mystery, begging to be solved.

Needless to say, Edward was just as surprised and concerned as me, but we've both decided to speak with Carlisle first before we would take any action … as in carefully approaching her. Sure, given her initial reaction, the unmistakable scowl distorting her beautiful features, it would be anything but easy to get her to talk to us. But then again … I always loved a challenge. And as a vampire I had literally all time in the world.

Grinning, I shouldered my bag and finally left the room. Not wanting to make Edward wait any longer, I hurried through the hall, as fast as I could without drawing any attention from the remaining stragglers. When I left the building, I immediately noticed something amiss. Edward's car was gone.

"Thanks for leaving me hanging, bro." I grumbled under my breath. Of course, I wasn't dependent on my brother to get home. I could easily get there on foot. It was the fastest way anyway. But I was still a little irritated. It's not like Edward could have forgotten about me. I pulled out my cell, checking for missed messages. There were none.

The lack of communication was no cause for worry, though. Leaving me high and dry was probably just my brother's way to get back at me. On our journey here I'd complained, rather incessantly, about his choice of wheels. But seriously, a Volvo was a terrible choice, especially since money wasn't an issue for us. And I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Normally we didn't carpool, but unfortunately until the end of the week my bike was at the body shop. For decency's sake I probably should keep my mouth shut for the duration of this arrangement … although that wouldn't do me much good, considering Edward could read my mind.

With a shrug I turned to the left, heading straight for the forest. It took me just two minutes to get home. Edward wasn't there, and neither was Esme. She was probably shopping and my brother … well at the moment I didn't really care where he was.

I just stayed long enough to ditch my bag in my room and change my clothes. And then I was off again, doing what I always did after school. It wasn't truly necessary to go hunting on a daily basis but I did it anyway, just to be on the safe side.

* * *

I was just in the middle of draining a deer, when my phone started buzzing.

With a growl of annoyance I stopped feeding, simultaneously unhooking my sharp teeth and releasing my tight grip on the already lifeless, yet not completely drained carcass. I let the corpse slide to the ground, watching the blood oozing from the open wound on its throat, seeping into cold, drenched soil. It had rained overnight, which wasn't a great rarity around here, quite the opposite actually. The superior number of overcast days had been one of the main reasons why we'd decided to settle down in this area.

_What a waste …_ I mourned my loss, but only halfheartedly. There was a lot of game out here. I could easily find and catch another one. With some luck, maybe even something tastier than an herbivore.

But I was still annoyed for the interruption. And with good reason. Being disturbed at such a crucial moment was never pleasant … or wise. Luckily I wasn't interrupted by a person, only by a phone call, otherwise … well … there would be more than one dead body lying on the ground by now. Vampire or human, it wouldn't make a difference. The end result would be the same.

If it hadn't been for our mutual agreement to use our cell phones only in case of an emergency, I would have simply ignored the disturbance. I would have finished my meal in peace and called back later.

Sure, we used our phones to text each other, but never for talking purposes. For that we had our land line at the house. Or we would text first, announcing our call.

The method might seem weird to an outsider, but it made sense to us. After running into some trouble a couple of years back, we'd come up with this strange, yet effective strategy. This way, anyone of us would answer his or her phone at any given time … even at the most inappropriate moment (much to annoyance of Emmett and Rose).

The call could be about anything … from something (relatively) trivial, like someone needing bail money, which had happened more than once, much to Esme's and Carlisle's dismay … to something serious, like someone asking for help to clean up certain messes.

Fortunately _that_ hasn't happened for quite a while. In fact, it's been thirty four years since the last time one of us had slipped up. Sadly but unsurprisingly, that person had been me. Sure, I'd come a long way since I've joined the Cullens, back in the fifties, but considering my less than fortunate 'upbringing' it had been, and still was, much more difficult for me to stick to this new, and extremely unusual diet, than it was for any of my family members. I've never used my past as an excuse for the numerous hiccups along the way of my recovery from hell, even though it would be a convenient one. No, every setback was just the motivation to try harder … because I really wanted this life.

Anyhow … we did have another, a far more pressing reason, as far as I was concerned, why we'd come up with this little arrangement.

Sure, generally speaking, we were safe. Not only did we outnumber the average nomadic coven, two to one, but Edward's telepathy and my ability to sense and influence other people's emotions made us practically untouchable. Only a fool, with a serious death wish, would try and challenge us … as a unit.

But therein lay the problem. We didn't spend every second of every day together. Of course we didn't. That would be impractical, awkward, tiresome … Like everyone, from time to time, we all needed break from each other.

As a group we did pose a formidable threat, but as individuals … Sure, no one would dare _me_, for obvious reasons. My scars were like a billboard, screaming danger. Emmett's sturdy physique usually had a similar effect, making people think twice before approaching him. But as for the rest of the family … well to put it nicely, they weren't the fighting types, Esme in particular. I was in no way a sexist. How could I be, after Maria? But it was obvious that Esme couldn't hurt a fly, figuratively speaking.

A couple of years ago two rogue vampires had reached the same conclusion, thinking that Esme was an easy target. As soon as they'd spotted her in the streets of the small town, we'd resided in at the time they'd stuck to her heels, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. But thanks to my _special_ (non-combat) training, Esme had been able to detect their presence straight away. She'd continued with her shopping, pretending to be completely oblivious thus weighing them in false security, though she'd used the first chance she'd gotten to call for backup. Needless to say, it had been very easy for me and Emmett to take care of the problem.

After that incident we'd come up with our strange arrangement, because Carlisle had been the first person she'd tried to reach … and failed.

With my usual sparring partner gone, I was seriously itching for a fight, and yet I was hoping this call wasn't about something serious.

I left my half-crouched position, wiping my hands clean on my jeans, before reaching into my back pocket to pull my phone out, which hadn't stopped ringing. Not a good sign. Before answering, I checked the display. It was Edward's number.

"This better be good, _Eddie_. What the hell were you thinking leaving me at school without a word?" I grumbled into the receiver.

"I'm sorry but your brother can't answer your questions right now." A female voice replied. She sounded familiar, but at the moment I couldn't quite place the voice.

"Who is this?" I growled.

"Bella Swan." She answered, managing to sound both amused and miffed at the same time.

I was anything but amused. Completely confused, and slightly concerned was more like it. "Where is my brother? What have you done to him?" I demanded to know, momentarily forgetting the fact that she was a human.

She snorted. "That's rich. I haven't done anything. Like I would stand a chance against your kind …" She trailed off, taking a deep breath to calm herself, before continuing. "Your brother is in my house, lying floor on the kitchen floor. It seems like he had some kind of anaphylactic shock after HE attacked ME."

For a few seconds I was too shocked to form words. But I caught myself quickly. "What do you mean he attacked you? Fuck … Did he bite you?"

"He did, but I'm alright. Thanks for asking." She scoffed, clearly fed up with me and my questions. I wanted to assure her that my concern was genuine, but she didn't give me the chance. "Hey, listen, Jasper. I don't know what's wrong with your brother, but I would greatly appreciate if you could come and get him. My father will be coming home in an hour or so. There is some damage I have to clean up, before he gets here. The front door is unlocked. I'll be back in fifteen minutes, and I expect both of you to be gone by then."

It wasn't a request, it was an order. A certain part of me didn't like that at all, but mostly I was stunned and impressed by her straightforwardness. She didn't seem to be scared at all.

"Or what?" I couldn't help but asked.

"Or I'll burn the house down." She answered, matter-of-factly.

I almost laughed. Almost. "A little overdramatic, don't you think?"

"Beats explaining the dead body, lying on the kitchen floor to my Dad, aka the Chief of Police, don't _you_ think?" She shot back, adding with huff, "Just do it."

Before I could reply anything, the line disconnected. I stared at my phone, with my mouth hanging open.

_What the fuck?_

* * *

**A/N What do you think? Can Edward be saved? **


End file.
